Ethan Nwaneri became an instant hero at Olympique Marseille following his loan move from Arsenal.
An agreement between the two clubs was struck earlier this week over a six-month loan deal, but it was not until Friday that the move was made official.
That meant Nwaneri had just one training session with his new teammates, but that was enough for the teenager to make an impact.
The Arsenal academy graduate scored a lovely goal against Lens after just 13 minutes on his debut, and his performance impressed everyone who follows Ligue 1.
Give us your three-word verdict on Ethan Nwaneri’s performance on his Marseille debut!
French football fans hail Ethan Nwaneri after his Marseille debut
Media outlets in France have already raved about Nwaneri’s performance, and it’s not just them who are really impressed.
Here’s how some French-speaking fans reacted to his display on social media.
One tweeted: “Nwaneri has all the makings of a good one. You can see it in his first touches. It’s strong.”
Another wrote: “How strong is Nwaneri, man, it’s exceptional.”
“Nwaneri is something else,” wrote another.
Another French supporter said: “Ethan Nwaneri’s technico-physical alloy, with such a personality in his playing choices on top of that, is downright astounding for an 18-year-old chap.”
“There are 30 million Olympique Marseille fans in the world. If we all put €3 into a Leetchi pot, that makes €100 million, and we buy Nwaneri. PLEAAAAASE,” tweeted another.
If Arsenal received a £70m bid for Ethan Nwaneri in the summer, would you sell him?
Roberto De Zerbi makes a prediction about Ethan Nwaneri after his debut heroics
Roberto De Zerbi is a brave man for throwing Nwaneri into the starting line-up against the second-placed team in France after just one day of training.
That just shows how much of an impression the Arsenal loanee made on the Marseille boss, and his comments after the game should further excite Gooners.
As per Fabrizio Romano, De Zerbi said on Saturday night: “Ethan Nwaneri will become a top player, I’m sure about that.
“You can see the quality, the impact… he’s so good!”
It’s clear that De Zerbi, who ran onto the pitch to celebrate Nwaneri’s goal, loves the Arsenal youngster, and we are convinced that he will make him better in the coming months.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
